These are exciting times around the United Methodist Church of Elmwood. We are constantly building and reconstructing how God's Spirit  is moving among us and through us. Howard Snyder, a beloved author and spiritual mentor of mine, has reminded us that New Testament biblical writers focus much more on community building in the process of building the body of Christ than any other topic. Our congregation is a unique hybrid of traditions and cultural backgrounds. We emphasize Christian biblically based community building and de-emphasize doctrinal differences. Someone asked me to describe our congregation. My description is a gathering of God's seekers and Jesus' disciples reaching out to the world with love and compassion. We recognize that we have differences among us but choose to lift up love first, understanding next,  and hope in the daily life experiences of the people we encounter.